A long-vacant lot in Nolita is finally getting a building, and renderings released this week show a six-story, red-brick condominium rising just steps from one of the neighborhood's oldest landmarks. The design for 233 Mott Street calls for five condominium units, ground-floor retail, and a rear garden on a site sandwiched between Prince and Spring streets.
The renderings, dated August 11, 2026, were revealed by New York YIMBY, which reports the project comes from architecture firm Michael Zenreich Architect PC. The building is designed to reach a main roof parapet of 74 feet 9 inches, with an elevator bulkhead topping out at 78 feet 6 inches, according to the outlet. That puts the structure just under the 75-foot maximum height allowed under the site's C6-2 zoning, with a 64-foot street wall staying within the district's 65-foot base height limit.
The façade is composed in red brick with Roman-length brick units along the street elevation, and the parapet is finished with a brick cornice and cast stone coping, per the same report. Windows are arranged in a four-bay grid of black aluminum tilt-and-turn units, while the ground floor features a sepia-brown aluminum storefront with black metal decorative framing and a sign band holding backlit building numerals. Private balconies are planned for the upper floors, with stacked balconies along the rear elevation, and a garden duplex is designed to open onto a landscaped rear yard. The cellar level is set to include a package room, bicycle storage, and retail storage.
A Lot With a Complicated Past
The empty parcel was subdivided from the remainder of a landmark site that last held a mid-century extension of the adjacent school, which was demolished in 2015 and 2016, the outlet's report notes. That school is the former St. Patrick's Convent and Girls' School at 32 Prince Street, an individual New York City landmark built in 1825 and 1826 as the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum and designated in June 1966, according to Wikipedia. The complex operated as New York City's first parochial school before closing in June 2010 due to declining enrollment.
The Archdiocese of New York sold that school complex in September 2014 for $32 million to developers Time Equities and Hamlin Ventures, who set out to redevelop the main structure into condos and townhouses, as reported by 6sqft. The 233 Mott Street lot is the last undeveloped piece of that decade-long overhaul. Because it sits directly beside the landmarked convent building, new construction there is subject to Landmarks Preservation Commission review, and the applicant is seeking a Certificate of Appropriateness to build the new structure.
From Mansion Plans to a Five-Unit Condo
The site's design has shifted dramatically over the years. Before the current condo proposal, the vacant lot had already received city approvals for an 11,200-square-foot single-family mansion designed by Marvel Architects, with the foundation already poured, according to a listing reviewed by Zillow. The parcel had also been shopped off-market in March 2020 at $12.8 million, or $1,143 per square foot, as a shovel-ready single-family site.
That mansion plan never materialized. Instead, real estate developer King's Capital purchased the vacant site for $7.575 million on July 24, 2026, buying it from seller Time Equities, per Traded. The 2,516-square-foot parcel, with 25 feet of street frontage, yields roughly 12,200 buildable square feet, translating to about $620 per buildable square foot under the deal. The same day, King's Capital secured a $15.555 million construction loan from lender Derby Copeland Capital, arranged by brokerage F2H Capital Group, according to PincusCo.
Sitting Across From a Hard-Won Garden
The site sits diagonally across from Elizabeth Street Garden, a green space that city officials designated as parkland in 2025 after dropping earlier plans to build senior affordable housing there, as reported by Crain's New York Business. Hoodline previously covered the garden's rezoning rescue, a compromise that ended years of debate over the lot's future. That history means any new building nearby, including 233 Mott Street's height, brick façade, and window rhythm, is likely to draw scrutiny from neighbors accustomed to fighting over density along these blocks.
The 233 Mott Street application went before the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a public hearing on Tuesday, listed under the Old St. Patrick's Convent and Girls' School individual landmark designation, according to the commission's public calendar. The project adds to a broader wave of dealmaking in Nolita, an area Hoodline recently examined in its report on Brandon Miller's Nolita deal talks before his death, as well as the neighborhood's commercial growth along Mott Street with the recent opening of Oriana.
